One of the most frequent pains that one may feel is common through the feet. The part of the foot which takes the most impact in weight-bearing activities like walking, running, standing, wearing high heels, or exercising is the ball of the foot. It is a common problem for people to experience pain in the ball of the foot, or metatarsalgia, when wearing high heels or performing weight bearing activities. The foot has five metatarsal bones numbered one through five in ascending order from the medial side of the foot (the side of the great toe). Each metatarsal bone has a head located in the ball of the foot that connects with the base of a corresponding proximal phalanx bone, forming a metatarsophalangeal joint. Metatarsalgia is localized in the area around the metatarsophalangeal joints, most often under the metatarsal heads. The second and third metatarsal heads usually bear most of the body's weight at the ball of foot. As a result, many sufferers of metatarsalgia may develop a callus at the second and third metatarsal heads. There are currently no padded foot supports for shoes on the market today that treat ball of foot discomfort for the general public with the dual approach of a padded foot support surface with a “hallow zone” created by a depression at the second and third metatarsal heads. Many foot supports provide padding or cushioning to the ball of foot. Some of these devices can redistribute some of the pressure at the ball of foot, but none of these padded foot supports for general public use utilize a hollow zone approach to maximize pressure redistribution capabilities at the ball of the foot. This invention is unique to general public use and not intended to be compared to custom fitting a person's shoe or foot support surface to address the individual's foot problems.
Ladies love to wear high heels, but unfortunately they are a common cause of ball of foot pain as they throw the body weight forward, specifically on the ball of foot where the metatarsal heads come in contact. Relief from this kind of weight-bearing pressure and pain is better treated when the body's weight is more evenly distributed at the ball of foot, allowing all five metatarsal heads to carry their share of the load. When a lady wears high heels for an extended period of time, metatarsalgia can be acute. They try padded foot supports at the ball of foot, but the pain is still present because the amount of force from their body weight is not effectively distributed to all the metatarsal heads. This invention redistributes the pressure of body weight more evenly to all metatarsal heads at the ball of the foot because it combines the benefits of a padded foot support surface with a “hollow zone”, which is capable of redistributing the pressure from the metatarsal heads that experience the most pressure to the metatarsal heads that experience the least amount of pressure. The second and third metatarsal heads, which generally take on the most pressure from body weight, will sink into the hollow zone of the padded foot support surface. When this happens, the other more tolerant metatarsal heads take on more body weight pressure. The high heel especially becomes more comfortable with the invention.
The invention is a padded foot support with an oblong and slightly bell curved type depression generally placed where the second and third metatarsal heads are expected to make contact with a shoe.